It’s always the right time to wonder

Kootenai County Commissioner Marc Eberlein had the audacity to wonder, in public, no less, if the prospect of privatizing the Solid Waste Department might be worth looking into.

The commissioner probably isnít going to find traction for that particular notion because itís a wrong target. In many peopleís view, Solid Waste is solid gold when it comes to giving Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer decent bang for their garbage buck, rendering good service for reasonable fees, and in this case with excellent long-range planning. No, picking on Solid Waste isnít the best idea but before ridicule runs rampant, letís look at the more important process.

One of the qualities voters should demand of public officials is a willingness to peer into even the most sacrosanct governmental operations and have the guts to ask, ďIs this the best we can do?Ē A certain degree of skepticism toward status quo ó determination to scrutinize the same olí in a new light ó isnít just fodder for good leadership; itís the foundation of innovation. Improvement is impossible without it.

A routine failure of elected officials is to spend, spend, spend when the economy is roaring along, which it just so happens to be doing right now. Departmental belt tightening seemingly is reserved for recessions only ó although in government, it rarely happens even then. But you get the idea.

When an elected official is inclined to poke and prod budgets, risking wrath when the reward just might be righteous for citizens, you can certainly question the motivation. You can also reject the proposed solution. But the process itself is noble, and taxpayers would be better served if this kind of poking were the rule rather than the exception.

Share Now

Read More Editorial

November 18, 2018 at 5:00 am | Coeur d'Alene Press
Merry Christmas, opinion page readers and writers. This holiday season weíre imparting a small gift to each of you. While upholding your First Amendment rights to free speech, weíre going to exerci...

November 16, 2018 at 5:00 am | Coeur d'Alene Press
There are times for diplomacy, for the gentle dispensation of information or mild persuasion to effect change for societal benefit. This is not one of those times. When you consider the danger some...

November 14, 2018 at 5:00 am | Coeur d'Alene Press
In something of an election week tradition, this newspaperís editor spoke to the local Pachyderm Club last Friday. The topic was a fascinating chart produced by Denver lawyer Vanessa Otero that attem...

November 11, 2018 at 5:00 am | Coeur d'Alene Press
Most of us agree that throwing money at a problem wonít necessarily solve it. But figuring out priorities in spending finite dollars is essential to solving the most important problems. And in this ...